Mayurbhanj enjoys the unique distinction of having a vast forest cover bristling with varied flora and
fauna, stretches of lush green forest served with a network of perennial streams and its bracing
climate contribute so much to make the district an ideal habitat for tropical birds and animals. In
the eyes of tourists, the spot, which is bewitching and enthralling, is SIMILIPAL
NATIONAL PARK the ideal habitat of animals like tiger, leopard, elephant, sambar, deer
and birds. Added to it is the scenic beauty in extravaganza which keeps one amazed. A
nature loving tourist can not but miss the majestic sal forests, cool, calm and expansive
grassy lands, soaring peaks and the waterfalls of streaming pearls
which make Similipal the " Dreamland of Nature".

The Elephants, dense forest, rugged hilly terrain majestically roaming wild animal and unfathomable magnetic power of to attract the tourists to its
lap combinedly make Similipal 'The Tourists' Paradise. Truly speaking, any sensitive nature loving tourist, who happen to come here once is so mesmerised by the roar of the Tiger, swaying gait of the elephant, chirping of various tropical birds, shining of tender foliages of luxuriously grown sal trees and other tropical forest trees and rustling of perennial
streams, that, they unwillingly make a retreat to the world full of din and bustle. Apart from that Similipal is the richest watershed in Orissa, giving rise to many perennial rivers-The Budhabalanga, The khadkei, The West Deo, The East Deo, The Salandi and the Sanjo are the major ones. Gorgeous
BAREHIPANI (400mt) and JORANDA (150mt) waterfalls do give every visitors a mute call to come there over and over again. At night when one is cozily settled in the rest house it is exciting as well as chilling to hear alarm calls-shrill notes of
CHEETAL, belling of SAMBAR or barking of MUNTJAC, generally indicating the presence of large predator-the LEOPARD or TIGER in the vicinity. During the day, sight of conspicuous foot prints of big cats and ELEPHANTS make the imagination run wild. During May-June, a large number of ORCHIDS bloom, exotically coloured and strangely shaped. They nestle on the trunks and branches of the tree for support in moist region. Generally 4 to 5 varieties bloom at a time for few days, while others patiently wait for their turn. Foot-long chains of 'FOX-TAIL orchid consisting of several hundred tiny translucent mauve coloured flowers are most
conspicious. A visit to The RAMTIRTHA CROCODILE REARING CENTRE near JASHIPUR is an exposure of different kind. It provides insight into the intricacy of nature and the man's effort to restore the balance in nature. In totality Similipal is among some of the best creations of the God.

Similipal is very rich in biodiversity with 7% of Indian species of flowering plants and 8% of orchids of India. Till date 1076 species of plants out of which
92 species of orchids have been identified in Similipal.

Fauna Census

The rich fauna of similipal includes at least 7% reptiles,20% birds & 11% mammals out of the Indian checklist. Thus,
42 major mammals and 260 species of birds and 30 species of reptiles have been identified in Similipal.
As per the latest census following are the details of the status of some of
the common species of wildlife.

Animal Population

Tiger:
98 (Male-28, Female-44, Cub-26, As on January 1999)

Leopard: 115 (Male-32, Female-59, Cub-24
As on January 1999)

Elephant:
449 (M-85, F-282, Y-82 As on May 1999)

Vegetation:

Forest Cover of Mayurbhanj

Mayurbhanj is a land of lush green forests. Its vegetation occurrence can
be broadly classified as follows.

North tropical moist deciduous sal forests.

Northern tropical semi-evergreen forests.

Mixed deciduous hill forests.

High level sal.

Dry deciduous sal forests.

Plain sal forests.

Grass land and savannah.

The similipal forest of the district comprising a single compact area,
represents virgin semi-ever green form. The growth of the forest is thick and impenetrable and is dominated by gigantic growth of large number of tree species chief being
sal. Other species such as piasal, asan, neem, kusum, mahul, dhow and sisu are found all over the area too.
The under growth is thick in similipal Reserve forest but thin towards the
peripheri.

The following nos.of V.S.S and V.F.P.C.s have been formed by the villagers
of nearby forests for protection of forests and they have been imparted training and inspiration on the above
facts. Sawing machines, press machines (for preparation of sal leaves
tray, plates etc.) have been provided to the people of adjacent villages in order to keep away from forest
theft. Mobile staff have been deployed with arms and ammunitions to patrol in and out side of forests.
V.S.S 151 nos 17,602.27
Hectare area protected V.F.P.C 132 nos 17,304.63 Hectare
area protected.